Archive for the Sailing Tips Category

How to calculate Wally The Wally is a technique for gaining advantage of wind shifts when you can’t or shouldn’t tack (read the overview). And yes, there are times and conditions where you shouldn’t tack (see Break-even tacking). In this exercise we will use the Ockam37 polar

Caution!! Downwind Cliff Ahead You can fall off, but it only changes what you do. We’re talking about the 3 specific wind ranges when sailing downwind. Grab you polar and follow along. What we’re talking about are the three wind speed ranges where your boat’s downwind behavior

The Golden Hour, is that important time between the dock start and the gun. Leave early enough to get in an hour of serious sailing before the start. Sailing out Organize. Head in the game. Throw some tacks to get everything working right. Confirm your assumptions about

Wind shear is always present. Determining how much there is will improve sail trim and performance, and offer a clue about future wind shifts. Determining shear is best done by tacking upwind in full racing mode. Shear is half the sum of true wind angle on the

Be on starboard at the mark Approaching the mark on port means having to give way to everybody else on starboard. You have to turn 90 degrees further, which is very bad for boatspeed. Full speed at the mark Rounding a mark at less than full speed

OckamSoft 5 training videos Demos LogScanner RaceCam LogScanner is a post-race analysis tool that works with almost any instrument system. An important feature is its ability to synchronize videos with the log, letting you find out more about what caused any mistakes you find. Learn more… The

Shooting the finish gains you 3 boatlengths When you shoot the finish, you turning all your boatspeed into Vmg, thus crossing sooner than you otherwise would. This is not trivial; it can gain you about 3 boatlengths on the other guy. With a little practice, you can

Strategy is your game plan The grand strategy to be “the best sailor at my club/world/universe” is psychology. Here, strategic sailing means what are the rules going to be for this race. Your strategy includes goals like; Win the race – duh! Beat some particular boat regardless

Tacking is an essential part of racing. Here is how to improve yours Tacking is a complicated process involving the whole crew. The difference between a good one and a bad one is hundreds of feet loss to weather, not including possible personnel or gear damage. Here’s

How to Sail in Shifty Wind Wind shifts are annoying but they provide more opportunity for gain than anything else. Wind is never constant. This is not news to sailors, who are constantly dealing with shifting wind and wave to maximize performance. On this page, we’ll discuss wind